The present invention discloses systems and methods to alert a medical operator that a surgical drain has been sutured in place within a patient's body. A readily removable sheath is provided at a distal end of a surgical drain. The sheath is configured to be placed within a surgical wound along with the surgical drain, and after the surgical drain is placed, to be removed from the surgical drain and withdrawn from the patient's body, leaving the surgical drain in place. As the medical operator attempts to withdraw the sheath from the drain and the patient's body, in the event that a suture has inadvertently passed through the body of the surgical drain, such inadvertently placed suture will obstruct the removal of the sheath, in turn alerting the medical operator that the surgical drain has been inadvertently sutured and allowing them to correct the drain placement during the same surgical procedure.
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1. A system to alert a medical operator that a surgical drain has been sutured in place within a patient's body, comprising:
a surgical drain having a drain distal end and a drain proximal end; and
a sheath removably attached to and surrounding at least a portion of said surgical drain and having a sheath distal end and a sheath proximal end, said sheath distal end being positioned adjacent to said drain distal end, and said sheath being movable toward said drain proximal end.
13. A method to alert a medical operator that a surgical drain has been sutured in place within a patient's body, comprising the steps of:
providing a surgical drain having a drain distal end and a drain proximal end, and a sheath removably attached to and surrounding at least a portion of said surgical drain and having a sheath distal end and a sheath proximal end, said sheath distal end being positioned adjacent to said drain distal end, and said sheath being movable toward said drain proximal end;
inserting the surgical drain and sheath into an operative wound of a patient;
closing the operative wound around the sheath and the surgical drain with one or more sutures; and
attempting to remove the sheath from the surgical drain by pulling the sheath toward the proximal end of the drain;
wherein resistance against removal of the sheath from the surgical drain is indicative of one of the one or more sutures having passed through the drain within the surgical wound.
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This application is based upon and claims benefit of co-owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/955,241 entitled “Surgical Drain Sutured-in-Place Prevention Device”, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Mar. 19, 2014 by the inventor herein, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to surgical drains, and more particularly to devices and methods for avoiding inadvertent and/or unintended suturing of surgical drains within a patient's body.
Many surgeries require postoperative drainage of excess blood and other fluids from the operative field. To account for this, a surgical drain such as a Jackson-Pratt or Penrose drain is typically placed deep within the operative field at the end of an operation. The wound is then sutured together in the vicinity of, but not including, the drain. Several layers of closing sutures may be present depending upon how deep the drain is placed. Drains are typically removed between one to five days following surgery.
Surgical drains are generally made from silicone or rubber, such that they are at risk of being punctured by a suture needle. Occasionally, the sutures used to close the wound inadvertently encircle or capture the drain. This sutures the drain in place within the patient's body, and there is no way for the surgical team to know this has occurred until drain removal is attempted several days later. When this does occur, it necessitates a second surgery and accompanying increases in morbidity, length of stay, and even mortality.
In light of the foregoing issues, there is a need in the art for a device and method that timely alerts the surgical team that a drain has been sutured in place within a patient's body, such as within a surgical wound. This will enable the surgeon to reopen the operative area and free the drain while the patient is still under anesthesia from the first surgery, thereby reducing the chances for a second surgery and associated complications.
The present invention discloses systems and methods to alert a medical operator that a surgical drain has been sutured in place within a patient's body, which thus prevents leaving an inadvertently and/or unintendedly sutured surgical drain within the patient's body. A readily removable sheath is provided at a distal end of a surgical drain. The sheath is configured to be placed within a surgical wound along with the surgical drain, and after the surgical drain is placed, to be removed from the surgical drain and withdrawn from the patient's body, leaving the surgical drain in place. As the medical operator attempts to withdraw the sheath from the drain and the patient's body, in the event that a suture has inadvertently passed through the body of the surgical drain, such inadvertently placed suture will obstruct the removal of the sheath, in turn alerting the medical operator that the surgical drain has been inadvertently sutured and allowing them to correct the drain placement during the same surgical procedure.
In accordance with certain aspects of an embodiment of the invention, a system to alert a medical operator that a surgical drain has been sutured in place within a patient's body is provided, such system comprising a surgical drain having a drain distal end and a drain proximal end, and a sheath removably attached to and surrounding at least a portion of the surgical drain and having a sheath distal end and a sheath proximal end, the sheath distal end being positioned adjacent the drain distal end, and the sheath being movable toward the drain proximal end.
In accordance with further aspects of an embodiment of the invention, a method to alert a medical operator that a surgical drain has been sutured in place within a patient's body is provided, comprising the steps of: providing a surgical drain having a drain distal end and a drain proximal end, and a sheath removably attached to and surrounding at least a portion of the surgical drain and having a sheath distal end and a sheath proximal end, the sheath distal end being positioned adjacent the drain distal end, and the sheath being movable toward the drain proximal end; inserting the surgical drain and sheath into an operative wound of a patient; closing the operative wound around the sheath and the surgical drain with one or more sutures; and attempting to remove the sheath from the surgical drain by pulling the sheath toward the proximal end of the drain; wherein resistance against removal of the sheath from the surgical drain is indicative of a suture having passed through the drain within the surgical wound.
The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which:
The invention summarized above may be better understood by referring to the following description, claims, and accompanying drawings. This description of an embodiment, set out below to enable one to practice an implementation of the invention, is not intended to limit the preferred embodiment, but to serve as a particular example thereof. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the conception and specific embodiments disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other methods and systems for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent assemblies do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.
The present invention provides devices and methods to warn a surgeon that a surgical drain has been sutured in place and/or to prevent leaving an inadvertently and/or unintendedly sutured surgical drain within a patient's body by warning a surgeon that a surgical drain has been sutured in place.
In accordance with certain aspects of an embodiment of the invention, a system to warn a surgeon that a surgical drain has been sutured in place and/or to prevent leaving an inadvertently and/or unintendedly sutured surgical drain within a patient's body includes a surgical drain and a surgical drain sleeve configured to be used with the surgical drain, and particularly for use with readily commercially available surgical drains of standard configurations known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
With particular reference to
As shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, sheath 220 may have a length of approximately 0.25 inches to approximately six inches. Sheath 220 may be either longer or shorter than this range. For example, as shown in
In each of the foregoing configurations, sheath 220 is readily removable from drain 100 by pulling sheath 220 toward the proximal end of drain 100 at outlet 130, unless sheath 220 is obstructed from removal, such as by way of a suture that has either passed through the wall of the drain 100 at a location that is proximal to sheath 220, or that has passed through both sheath 220 and drain 100. If the surgeon or other medical personnel attempts to remove sheath 220 and encounters resistance, such resistance indicates to the operator that drain 100 has inadvertently been sutured to the patient's body, thus allowing the operator to immediately remedy the condition during the current surgical procedure.
The sheaths described above may further comprise additional features to ensure that a drain has not been sutured in place. For example, in certain embodiments the sheath 220 may include markings at the distal end for surgeon identification. Such markings allow the surgical team to identify the distal end of the sheath when it is removed, and thus confirm that the sheath 220 has been removed in its entirety. Markings may include, by way of non-limiting example, distinct colors or designs.
Another aspect of the invention provides for a surgical drain and sheath kit. The surgical drains provided in the kits may include specialized features to operate with a sheath. For example, if the sheath has pull strings, then they may be implanted or attached along the length of the drain wall.
In accordance with further aspects of the invention, a method for determining if a surgical drain has been sutured is provided and shown schematically in
Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiments and certain modifications of the concept underlying the present invention, various other embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of the embodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with said underlying concept. It should be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth herein.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Mar 18 2015 | University of Maryland, Baltimore | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Mar 18 2015 | The United States of America as represented by the Department of Veterans Affairs | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Apr 02 2015 | TURNER, DOUGLAS | University of Maryland, Baltimore | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 040274 | /0270 | |
Apr 07 2015 | University of Maryland, Baltimore | The United States of America as represented by the Department of Veterans Affairs | A JOINT, UNDIVIDED, RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST | 041359 | /0220 |
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